How to tell if your knife is sharp – and how to sharpen it, if it isn’t

The knife is, hands down, the most important tool in the kitchen (well, besides the cook, of course). And new knife technology seems to arrive frequently, whether it’s Ginsu or Santoku knives from Japan, or new styles from Henckel. But all that technology (and price) won’t do a lot of good if the knives aren’t sharp. 

The Kitchn had a two-part series recently on what everyone should know about knives. In What is Sharp?  Bob Kramer demonstrates 5 ways to tell if your knife is sharp enough. There’s a video demonstrating how to:

• Cut the tops off of carrots while they are being held, without the use of a cutting surface
• Cut through paper
• Slice through a rolled up magazine page
• Easily slice a tomato
• Bite into the papery skin of an onion, without sliding

If, as is likely, your knives aren’t sharp, in part 2 of the series Kramer has two videos on how to hone and stone your knives.  And remember, not only will sharp knives make kitchen prep work that much easier, but safer as well.